Monday, March 19, 2012

First Farmer's Market

The first Farmer's Market opened on Saturday, and I had a great time. It was cool but dry, with glorious moments of bright sunshine. I came home with black trumpet mushrooms (see below) and watercress. More on that next week, when I begin a new blog series called Meatless Mondays (inspired bythis effort). For now, enjoy these pictures of spring produce. What's available now in your region?

Oh, so pretty. It reminds me of the market in China where we spent some time admiring all of the beautiful offerings. Your photos are fab-u-lous! I would like a "bouquet" of the chard and a dozen of the eggs for my Easter basket.

Oh, how fun! In that top photo, before I read what it was, I viewed the stems of the chard as some unique kind of flower blossom. I have a friend in town (a restaurant owner, actually) who also does Meatless Mondays, so I'll be looking forward to your posts on this!

The farmer's market in West Philadelphia has been available all winter long. This time of year we've still been getting a few types of apples and leafy greens, and a variety of root vegetables, including carrots, turnips, onions, and parsnips, although the selection of all of the above has been shrinking. I have yet to see much in the way of spring plants.

One thing that I am disappointed about is that winter cresses are not cultivated more. All about the city, all winter long, there are two species of winter cress that grow vibrantly. This year was mild, but even in the colder years they grow and thrive, even under the snow. Both are delicious and have a watercress like flavor, and grow without much effort required to cultivate them. Yet I've never seen them for sale!

I think we've only scratched the surface of the available local foods that are out there...